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Sarkozy Fights French Elections...In Libya

Sarkozy is so unpopular Marine Le Pen, leader of racist National Front is ahead of him in polling for the next presidential elections, by 23% to 21%. Sarkozy --

[Black Star News Editorial]

Nicolas Sarkozy's shameful war for oil has been launched on Libya. African soil has been profaned with hundreds of missiles and bombs from the NATO countries--the United States, the U.K., and France-- under the guise of "noble" humanitarian intervention when in fact profits are the primary motive.

The U.S. had a sensible policy of refraining from Sarkozy's war until Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, no doubt with her husband Bill Clinton counseling her in the background, persuaded President Barack Obama to change his mind. It's a monumental mistake; it could have negative political consequences for President Obama domestically if fighting spreads there and elsewhere in North Africa and the Middle East. Sarkozy wants it to become Obama's war, while he gets the glory--it also benefits Clinton's political fortunes.

Removing Muammar al-Qathafi is not the issue given overwhelming Western military firepower. But Western governments and media have not been honest about who the "rebels" are. The Benghazi rebels are far from the Blackberry-Facebook revolutionists who overthrew dictatorships in Tunisia and in Egypt. Western governments and major corporate media know this; the evidence is everywhere.

Here are some inconvenient truths glossed over or ignored by The New York Times, the BBC, The Guardian , and other major Western mouthpieces. The revolution has been hijacked from the Blackberry-Facebook movement by Libyan professional politicians, professional soldiers, and sympathizers of the old monarchy. In Libya today the leader of the rebellion is Mustafa Abdel Jalil, who until about a month ago, was al-Qathafi's minister of justice. Change you can believe in or just saving his neck from the true revolutionists?

Some of the rebel commanders were until a few weeks ago leaders in al-Qathafi's military; the rebels have committed atrocities, including executions of Black Africans, some of whom were migrant workers in Libya--there are repulsive video images of dead Black Africans being spat on and jeered by people in the rebel zone who also are snapping images with camera phones. The rebels also include diehard Islamists who are quite happy to see Washington, London and Paris carry their fight for them.

The leaders of the "revolution" in Libya have in fact stolen the uprising from noble young Libyans who are determined to launch their new dawn. Maybe such a day will still emerge in Libya--but today's players, who eagerly invited the Western powers to bombard their own country are self-seekers if the truth be told.

How compromised and corrupt are the rebel's leadership? In an article published March 14 in The Financial Times, Abdel Jalil declared that Libya's oil --after al-Qathafi was deposed-- would be shared out to the Western powers in proportion to "the positions countries are taking towards Libya in these times"; meaning oil concessions would be divided based on the amount of help these countries gave the rebels in ousting al-Qathafi. Of course this blackmail was not reported in The New York Times, which also ignored the rebels' killings of Black Africans. It should make the sober reader ponder over what the definition of a "newspaper" is.

The European leaders were driven by other domestic agendas.

The U.K.'s David Cameron came to power and quickly imposed drastic cuts in spending, much like the Republicans and Tea Party are advocating for here; the U.K. economy, which was already in recession, has not since recovered. Libyan war is an excellent diversion for Cameron; favorable oil concessions will be added bonus.

France's Sarkozy is now so unpopular at home that Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right and racist National Front party, is ahead of him in polling for the next presidential elections, by 23% to 21%. Sarkozy --who denies Libya's claim that he received campaign contributions from Tripoli-- was quick to recognize the Benghazi rebels as Libya's legitimate government. Sarkozy knows that if France is instrumental in deposing al-Qathafi, the image of Sarkozy visiting Libya as a liberating hero would boost his dismal standing back home.

So when these leaders cynically lie to the world that it's all about "rescuing" innocent Libyans sensible people must pose these questions:

Where have you been for the past month? Why are you silent in the face of atrocities against civilians, including women, in the Ivory Coast and continuing genocide in eastern Congo ignited by Western-backed dictators like Yoweri Museveni? Why not order U.S.-backed dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen to step down immediately after the massacre of nearly 50 pro-democracy demonstrators there?

What of Bahrain, where the minority Sunni monarchy is crushing the revolt for self-determination by the majority Shiite with the help of Saudi forces? For how long and at what cost will you continue to sustain the corrupt monarchs in Saudi Arabia who have vowed to cut off the hands of demonstrators there?

Al-Qathafi may be no angel but please don't abuse our intelligence. Tell us the truth. It's about imposing a dependent client regime and gaining access to Libya's 35 billion barrels of known oil deposits.